A method of controlling a pointing device such as a mouse, selecting an area with program functions that are indicated by buttons, a slide bar, or the like, and implementing the functions provided to the area (hereafter referred to as ‘selection area’) has been implemented by various user-friendly controlling apparatuses and methods using generally called GUI. With the GUI, in order to select an area such as a button, and implement a function provided to the area, a user must move a pointer of a pointing device such as a mouse into the area, and ensure selection of the area.
At this time, a position determining means for determining that a pointer such as a cursor exists within the area is essential. Such position determining means is a well-known technology, and is used on GUI software such as Windows (registered trademark), Mac OS (registered trademark), and the like.
If the pointer exists within the selection area, it is preferred that the pointer can select not the boundary of the area but the center thereof with certainty in order to ensure selection of the area and prevent erroneous operation. For example, users may select the center of the selection area with certainty by automatically moving the pointer to an area adjacent to the center of the area when the pointer has crossed over a boundary of the area from outside to inside. A technology to automatically move a pointer to a central coordinate position is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H8-152971, and has already been put into practical use as a software keyboard.
Further, there are other methods of ensuring selection of the selection area to prevent erroneous operation. For example, there is a method of making the moving speed of the pointer displayed on the screen slower than the usual movement speed of the pointing device when a pointer exists within the area, or fixing the pointer displayed on the screen until the pointing device moves a predetermined distance or greater. Such technology is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-133822. This method allows prevention of erroneous operation and selection of a desired area with certainty because the pointer does not move outside of the selection area due to shaking of hands, clicking, or the like as long as the pointing device on hand does not move widely.
There are many screen inputting apparatuses to which GUI is applied. For example, conventionally, in an image editing field, images have been edited using a video playback and storing apparatus and a video editing apparatus. However, advancement of computer technology allows implementation of editing on an editing screen by selecting a function select button or the like provided on the same screen while checking an image being edited. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a display system which implements the video editing on a computer display. According to the display system shown in the drawing, an image filmed by a video camera or the like (not shown in the drawing) is stored in an image storing means 110. Operators may edit video images using an editing computer 180 and an edit controlling means 130 while viewing them on an image displaying means 120. The edited images may be output from the image storing means 110 using an appropriate method.
FIG. 2 shows an example of an editing screen in the image editing field described above. In FIG. 2, GUI technology is applied for the selection of input/output channels (240), setting for selection and duration (230) of editing images, and the like. In addition, to implement detailed editing operations using an editing means on a computer screen, it is necessary to display many selection areas for implementing GUI functions, such as buttons, slide bars, and the like on the screen as illustrated in FIG. 2.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing exemplary buttons displayed on an actual editing screen. When many selection areas are provided, the smaller a button-shape selection area, the more the amount of information to be provided on the screen increases. However, it becomes difficult to ensure that the pointer moves into an area to select a function provided to the area due to a decrease in selection area size, resulting in a deterioration of operability.
FIG. 4 shows an example where many selection areas are provided in multiple rows and columns in order to compensate for the deterioration of operability due to the decrease in selection area size as described above. FIG. 4 shows an example of two rows×two columns. In such a screen including many selection areas, a problem of operability develops when attempting to select a first area by passing over a second selection area. For example, when the technology disclosed in the aforementioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H10-133822 is used, a decrease in moving speed and suspension is repeated when moving a pointer to the center of the selection area and moving it within the selection area for each selection area along a pointer passing route. Accordingly, it takes time to reach a target selection area, resulting in an extreme deterioration of operability. In addition, a method of expanding an area when a pointer of a pointing device enters within the area has been proposed in attempt to improve certainty of function selection; however, this method has a disadvantage that the expanded area covers other areas and other displaying units.